Swompdonkey

I watched the Live 8 Concert yesterday... yes the whole thing. I just spent two weeks in Spain and the splendour of the Canadian Summer is lost on me at this point.

Altogether, a mixed bag. Some bands were as good live as I expected them to be, some surpassed my expectations, and some should never be permitted to play live again, because their offensively poor performance may risk turning public opinion against the cause they are trying to help.

I'm fairly certain that some of the acts were not entirely sure of what the point of Live 8 was. You could tell by the way they spouted vague inane cliches between songs: Come on, people, we gotta do the right thing! We need justice! We need to make those leaders understand! We have the power!. I think one moron from A Simple Plan spouted something about "Your Vote"?

Did anyone else also notice that each of the concerts, while offering a variety of acts, seemed to be centred on a particular type of music?

For instance:

Toronto (yeah, actually Barrie, but who outside of Canada has heard of Barrie) featured:

ClassicRock/fogey music - BTO and Deep Purple, who were both great; Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot who were, um, themselves.

Can Con - Simple Plan (derivative wannabes playing generic pseudo-punk); Les Trois Accords (some Quebec band that nobody has ever heard of); Two dreadlocked Quebecoises who I found obnoxious; Brian Adams; The Hip; Barenaked Ladies; Celine Dion, who is better off in Vegas: She was boed in Barrie, but the Vegas crowd loved her.

80s Hard Rock - Could anyone else understand what the hell Vince Neil was singing? I figured he couldn't remember the lyrics to the bloody songs!

Philly

Hip Hop - Will Smith (formerly known as the Fresh Prince, before he became an actor)

Hip Hop and Rock - Jay-Z and Linkin Park, who tore the mother down

Hip Hop featuring members of the Marley family - The grossly-overrated Black Eyed Peas

Did I mention Hip Hop? - Kanye West

London

Legends - Sir Paul, U2, Pink Floyd (those three alone worth the price of the DVD)

People who think they are legends, but ain't - Robbie Williams (know outside the UK as "Who the fuck is that?"; Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft; Madonna (looking pissed-off at the crowd); Sir Elton John (OK, he's a legend, I just don't like him)

Paris

Terrible music - cuz that's what the French like!

Berlin

Current Rock and Punk - Audioslave, Green Day
One-hit wonders - A-ha (man, did they look uncomfortable!)

Moscow

Gay acts from the eighties - A very mellow and grey Pet Shop Boys

Tokyo

Strictly B-listers - Good Charlotte, anyone?

Rome

Country music, naturally! - Faith Hill

Johannesburg

Music destined to never be televised - Various African acts

I seem to recall there being one more city, but I'll be darned if I can remember it!